Association Football (Soccer)

The qualifying competition for the 1994 World Cup finals in the U.S. was the highlight of association football in 1993. Among the early qualifiers for the 1994 finals were Greece, making its initial appearance in the finals, and Russia, for the first time as an independent nation. The others scheduled to play in their first World Cup finals were Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

The growth of member countries in UEFA, the European soccer organization, continued with further additions from the eastern regions, bringing the total membership to 45 with two associate members. These two came from Czechoslovakia, the latest country to be divided on ethnic lines, as the Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, its national team continued for World Cup purposes as the RCS (Representation of Czechs and Slovaks).

At the club level the increase of 13 in the number of competing clubs provided an enlarged entry for both the Champions’ Cup and Cup-Winners’ Cup. The 1993-94 Champions’ Cup was contested by 42 clubs, while 43 entrants competed for the Cup-Winners’ Cup, and the usual 64 teams vied for the UEFA Cup. Among the new entries were clubs from Albania, Belarus, Croatia, and Moldova. Wales was represented for the first time in the Champions’ Cup. The formula for the Champions’ Cup again featured a league system for the last eight teams.

European Cup-Winners’ Cup

Parma of Italy achieved its first European prize with a well-merited 3-1 win over the Belgian club Antwerp, another first-time finalist, at Wembley on May 12. There was a noticeable clash of styles, with Parma’s attractive pattern-weaving proving more rewarding than Antwerp’s more direct methods. The Italians took the lead after nine minutes. Antwerp goalkeeper Stevan Stojanovic misjudged Luigi Apolloni’s corner kick, and the ball fell to Lorenzo Minotti, who volleyed into the roof of the rigging. The lead lasted two minutes before Daniele Zoratto’s clearance hit Alex Czerniatynski. He showed smart reflexes in channeling the ball through to Francis Severeyns, who shrugged off a challenge to hit a cross shot under goalkeeper Marco Ballotta. But at the half-hour mark, Parma restored its lead. Georges Grun found Marco Osio on the edge of the penalty area. He crossed for Alessandro Melli to head in at 2-1. After that, it was not until the 83rd minute that Parma added to its score. Grun delivered a high ball that beat the offside trap, and Stefano Cuoghi was able to commit Stojanovic before slipping the ball past him.

UEFA Cup

Juventus of Italy won its second UEFA Cup trophy in four years, easily overcoming Germany’s Borussia Dortmund 6-1 on aggregate scores. In Dortmund on May 5, the early exchanges gave little indication of the ultimate result. To the delight of most of the crowd, Michael Rummenigge put the Germans ahead after only two minutes. Thereafter, the Italians dominated. Dino Baggio tied the score in the 27th minute, and the unrelated Roberto Baggio, who was later named European Player of the Year, made it 2-1 four minutes later, then scored again after 74 minutes to win the match 3-1. In Turin two weeks later, Dino Baggio emulated his namesake with two goals, scoring in the fifth minute and five minutes before halftime. Andreas Moller added a third goal for Juventus in the 65th minute. Victory provided Juventus with its third UEFA Cup success, a record for the competition.

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